


If I could talk to the animals...

by ashers_kiss



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Primeval, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Gen, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-30
Updated: 2014-08-30
Packaged: 2018-02-15 11:22:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2227185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashers_kiss/pseuds/ashers_kiss
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“He’s a coelurosauravus, you’re not going to give him an identity crisis.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	If I could talk to the animals...

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Teigh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Teigh/gifts).



> A (very late, I'm so sorry!) birthday ficlet for my darling [Teigh](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Teigh/), who requested Clint and Natasha and "I think you missed your calling" from the [Tumblr dialogue meme](http://dark-siren.tumblr.com/post/90514913069/send-me-a-pairing-and-a-line-of-dialogue-and-ill-write). T.~ is also a huge fan of dinosaurs, so this is a teensy snippet of what would be a [Primeval](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primeval) AU if I was ever dedicated enough to write it. (And if anyone hasn't watched Primeval, you really, really should.)
> 
> For the Primeval fans: think of Clint as a kind of cross between Connor and Becker, and Natasha somewhere around Abby's role in the show, while still being the Black Widow. (Coulson will forever and always be a precursor to Lester - if with a slightly better temperament - even though he doesn't actually appear this time round.) And yes, the [coeluro](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coelurosauravus) is supposed to be Rex, but I'd probably call him Lucky. I'm ridiculous like that.
> 
>  _Huge_ thanks to [amine-eyes](http://amine-eyes.tumblr.com) for talking this through with me, and making [the initial request](http://dark-siren.tumblr.com/post/79818668844/clint-and-natasha-velociraptors-look-okay-i-know) that spawned this idea in my head.
> 
> T.~, I'm sorry this is kinda sad and so late, but I hope you enjoy it even a little bit. Thank you so much for always being absolutely amazing, sweets. ♥♥♥

“Little guy’s had a rough day,” Clint said, running a finger over the hard ridge on the coelurosauravus’ head. It trilled and shoved its head further under his hand, pretty forcefully, and Clint grinned. The he squinted. “Wait, are we sure it’s a he? I don’t wanna misgender or anything – ”

Natasha rolled her eyes and closed the fridge with a little more force than he thought was probably necessary, the little vials and sample dishes rattling faintly. “Yes, Clint, he’s a he.”

“Are you sure?” Which was kind of a stupid question – okay, it was a _totally_ stupid question, but Clint lowered himself down to eye level with the core – coel – coeluro, he’d go with that, and couldn’t tell one way or the other. He looked…happy, though, mouth open and tongue lolling a bit at Clint’s continued ministrations. Kind of like a dog. A really small, kind of scaly dog. Clint used to beg his mom for a puppy, until he realised that was the _last_ thing they needed under his dad’s feet. “How can you tell?”

For a moment, he thought Natasha wasn’t going to dignify him with an answer, which was fair (her training didn’t _allow_ for mistakes, for uncertainties, not in anything, and it still made Clint’s blood run cold to think about it too much) but all she said was, “I’m sure,” sitting on the other side of the table. She pushed his hand away, gently – no need to scare the little guy, they’d only gotten him down about an hour ago – replacing it with her own and guiding the coeluro round to her, murmuring in Russian. He turned his happy little face on her, and she smiled back, the barest tilt of her lips. Her eyes, when she glanced up at Clint, were just the tiniest bit softer around the edges. “He’s a coelurosauravus, you’re not going to give him an identity crisis.” The name tripped right off her tongue, like it was easy.

Clint shrugged, eased down on to his knees. “You never know.” He nodded at the long, thin tail moving back and forth across the table. “He likes you.”

“Of course he likes me, I fed him,” Natasha scoffed, but if he had to, Clint would have said she was pleased.

The coeluro trilled some more while she scrubbed under his jaw with the – okay, Clint didn’t care what they said, it looked like a toothbrush. “Think you missed your calling, Nat,” he murmured, folding his arms over the edge of the table and propping his chin on top, watching as the coeluro squirmed happily. (And if he was going to be hanging around here for a while, he was going to need a _name_ , no matter what Coulson said; Clint couldn’t keep mangling his genus like that. He’d ask Darcy, she was good at that shit.)

Natasha’s hands didn’t falter, but the barest flicker of something crossed her face, gone before Clint could even begin to identify it as anything more than “not good”.

“No I didn’t.”


End file.
